Senate Presidency: S/East Group Celebrates Kalu’s Rejection
By Idris Umar Feta
A group, under the aegis of South East Fact Check, SEFC, has celebrated the non-nomination of former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu as consensus candidate for Senate President.
This followed the nomination of Senator Godswill Akpabio from Akwa Ibom for the seat of Senate Presidency, by his party, All Progressive Congress, APC, early this week.
The group, which spoke in Umuahia, alleged that Senator Kalu was not in support of Nigerian President of Igbo extraction and never saw any possibility of that project and therefore did not deserve the support of SEFC and the Igbo nation in general.
The Chairman of the group, Odinkemmere Barry said there should not be any brouhaha about how the President-elect, Ahmed Bola Tinubu and his party, APC zoned the National Assembly positions.
According to the group, those who never believed in the Igbo project should not turn back to seek Igbo support now.
Barry who alleged that several uncomplimentary comments were credited to the Senate Chief Whip before the APC and PDP primaries, also claimed that Kalu has been rewarded in his own coin.
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“Before the APC Presidential primary election, he was quoted as campaigning for Senate Ahmed Lawan and the North East and not for Igbo candidates in the APC race.
“He was also quoted as saying some other things that surprised the SEFC and well-meaning South-Easterners. He has been paid by APC in his own coin and therefore, we should not be involved since it is a party affair,” he stated.
The group advised Kalu to go for some other available Senate leadership positions since the Presidency and Deputy have been zoned away from him.
“We cautioned against his utterances but he believed doing so would give him Senate Presidency. Now, he has been dribbled”, Odinkemmere said.
He advised all elected members of the National Assembly from the South-East, irrespective of party affiliation to close rank and work for the development of the region or lose the confidence of the people and their eventual defeat in 2027 elections.
“In 2027, they will show proof of their performances before being re-elected.
“For Senator Kalu, he tried enough in attracting projects to his Abia North constituency from out checks, but his only fault is the inglorious way he talked about the President of Igbo extraction,” Odinkemmere concluded.
